2012 NFL Draft: Alshon Jeffery and Underclassmen Who Are Smart to Declare Early

It wasn't long ago that the preeminent NFL prospects in the nation would stay in school for four years before entering the draft. That isn't really fiscally responsible anymore, though, as underclassmen routinely dominate the early part of the draft.

While some underclassmen get bad advice and enter the draft when their value is at a low point, others do an excellent job of striking while the iron is hot.

Here are three recently-declared underclassmen who made the right move by jumping to the NFL.

WR Justin Blackmon - Oklahoma State

Prior to this season, it was pretty apparent that Oklahoma State wide receiver Justin Blackmon would enter the draft if he was able to stay healthy and put up good numbers. That was certainly the case, as he followed up a sophomore season of 1,782 yards and 20 touchdowns with a junior year of 1,522 yards and 18 touchdowns.

If there were any doubts, he put them to rest with eight catches for 186 yards and three scores in a Fiesta Bowl win.

Blackmon already has an NFL body at 6'1" and 215 lbs. and he will almost assuredly be a top-five pick. On top of that, quarterback Brandon Weeden is graduating, so there will likely be an adjustment period at Oklahoma State.

After winning a BCS bowl and back-to-back Biletnikoff Awards, there is truly nothing left for Blackmon to accomplish. He should feel very comfortable with his decision.

OT Jonathan Martin - Stanford

It's difficult to put a quantitative value on offensive linemen, as they don't really put up stats. All you have to do to understand how good Stanford offensive tackle Jonathan Martin is, though, is to look at the success of Cardinal quarterback Andrew Luck and the offense as a whole over the past two seasons.

With that in mind, Martin made the decision to come out a year early, and I think it was a good one.

For one, Martin looks like a pretty good bet to go in the top 10, as it would be a surprise if he got past the Buffalo Bills at No. 10. While Martin probably would rather have gone out on a winning note in the Fiesta Bowl, there is no reason for him to stay in school.

Luck is entering the draft as well, so the Cardinal are guaranteed to drop off to some degree next season. Martin's stock is as high as it's going to get.

WR Alshon Jeffery - South Carolina

The case of South Carolina wide receiver Alshon Jeffery is an interesting one. After a sophomore season in which he caught 88 balls for 1,517 yards and nine touchdowns, he was considered to be one of the best receivers in the nation.

While that is still the case, his statistics took a major hit in his junior year as he only caught 49 passes for 762 yards and eight touchdowns.

Those numbers were very similar to what he did in his freshman season, so it brings up the question of whether or not his sophomore year was an aberration. I don't think it was, mainly due to the uncertainty at the quarterback position for the Gamecocks this season. Stephen Garcia was dismissed and a bit of a carousel ensued, so the passing game struggled in general.

Jeffery has great size and skills, and he should still be a first-rounder, so there is no reason to go back to a bad quarterback situation.